A woman in Sheffield has said she was nearly forced to source her atomoxetine prescription illegally amid a national shortage of the drug.
Natasha Rippon, 32, from Nether Edge, has taken atomoxetine since her ADHD diagnosis in early 2022, and was turned away by seven Sheffield pharmacies whilst looking for her October prescription.
Last month, she was forced to post on Facebook looking for medication and warned she had even considered the black market as a last resort.
Ms Rippon, who has just finished her masters degree in developmental psychology, said she could not afford to finish her studies without atomoxetine.
She said: “If I wasn’t finishing my degree, I’d have just dealt with it and explained that I probably wouldn’t have been myself.
“I’d have then hoped that people were compassionate and understanding enough to cope with a hyper moment or an over emotional one.
“I’ve never done drugs, I’ve always stayed away from them, but I wondered if I was going to have to find a dealer that could bring me this drug.”
In July, the Department for Health and Social Care announced that 40mg tablets of atomoxetine, Ms Rippon’s medication, would be out of stock until September.
However, Ms Rippon said she is still struggling to get access to her prescription in the run-up to Christmas.
Having initially been diagnosed and given her prescription privately, Mrs Rippon became unable to afford the medication in August after her role as a teaching assistant ended.
She has since struggled to change her prescription to a different dosage which would be easier to access.
She said: “I was thinking that if I couldn’t be on this drug and was also trying to manage my life, I risked having nothing.
“I couldn’t believe that, it was ridiculous.”
In October, Ms Rippon was able to find an oral solution of atomoxetine at Wicker Pharmacy, but not only did it not cover a full month, the side effects made her feel unwell.
She said: “I felt really sick, so ill that I thought I didn’t want to take it.
“I was about to go on holiday so I thought ‘I don’t want to feel sick whilst on holiday so I just won’t take it while I’m there’.”
Ms Rippon said every month is uncertain where she will be able to get her medication from, which she is now having to find two weeks in advance.
She said: “It’s making me worried because every month I’m in this position thinking ‘where will I get the next prescription?’”
Whilst Ms Rippon said she was ‘surprised’ by the positive response to her post asking for help finding medication, she said the fact she had to do so felt ‘embarrassing’.
She said: “It was a very vulnerable position to be putting myself in.
“I was effectively saying to a group of people online with a megaphone ‘hey, I need my prescription, can someone help me?’”
Ms Rippon said atomoxetine makes her life significantly easier, helping improve her mental health, focus and also her relationship with food having previously battled binge eating disorder.
She said: “For me it is a miracle drug, for the first time in my life I don’t find it hard to breathe.
“I didn’t realise the fact that I found it hard to breathe was actually a result of anxiety.
“I’d be on the sofa and I felt I had to breathe in really deep to make sure I was getting enough oxygen in.
“If I was to come off of it, the depression, the anxiety, the lack of focus, the eating disorder, the high energy and all of the dysregulation would come back.”